Audi, too, has just joined the party with its RS7 Sportback, the new top dog of the company’s hatch-cum-coupe A7 line-up.

What do you get?

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As with many cars of this ilk, the $238,500 (plus on-road and dealer costs) RS 7’s value doesn’t stand up to rational scrutiny when you can get the same grunt, gear and more practicality in its $225,000 RS 6 Avant wagon sibling (there’s no RS 6 sedan).

If, though, you reckon style is worth paying for it looks quite tempting. The 650i Gran Coupe and Quattroporte S run it close on price but are a step below on performance; the equivalently potent CLS63 AMG S and M6 Gran Coupe are $20k-odd and $60k-odd costlier respectively.

The RS 7 gets a pretty generous serve of features, including four-zone climate control, power heated front seats, LED headlights, sunroof, sat nav and a Bose 600-watt CD/DVD/MP3 entertainment system with digital radio/TV.

That’s just one of many options. Truly serious steerers have the $4900 ‘Dynamic Package’ and $25,840 ‘Dynamic Package Plus’ to choose from (the former adds dynamic steering, uprated suspension and 280km/h top-speed regulation rather than the regular 250km/h; the latter goes further with ceramic brakes and 305km/h top-end) and there are various dress-up packages and individual options as well.

What's inside?

The RS 7’s dramatic silhouette has its downsides. Tall back-seat occupants will find headroom in short supply and compromised vision from the swooping roofline. A low and somewhat hard squab means the bench isn’t exceptionally pampering even if you fit.

Did we say bench? The RS 7, in keeping with its quasi-coupe leanings, has two individual seats in the back, so is not equipped to carry five.

The boot has no such practical shortcomings. It isn’t particularly deep but it is long, intrusion-free and has a competitive 530-litre capacity that expands to a very useful 1390 litres with the back seats folded.

Up front the crisp instruments, tidily rendered displays/readouts and the ergonomic ease (relatively speaking) of the MMI system that controls the vast array of functions are all familiar Audi stuff.

But, in spite of having seen it all before, the atmosphere is special indeed. The A6/A7’s wraparound dash is assembled from the usual top-notch materials and in the RS 7 beautifully adorned with jewellery like expensive-looking carbon-fibre trim.

Our test car was even more attention-getting with its optional ‘Audi exclusive design’ package, which adds crimson-red details like honeycomb stitching on the body-hugging sports seats and similarly fiery seatbelts. It’s a snip at just $13,900.

Under the bonnet

It wasn’t that long ago that the RS 7’s key numbers – 412kW of power, 700Nm of torque and a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 3.9 seconds – would have destroyed everything this side of breakfast. But the CLS63 AMG S is even more powerful.

Such theoretical reservations don’t hold water out on the road, where tickling the 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 is akin to lighting a rocket and holding on.

This is a car that demands adjustment of the senses before getting serious – you’ll be arriving wherever you aimed sooner than you expect, for a start. The V8 also sweeps across the revs so quickly you need racing-driver focus to beat the rev limiter when using the eight-speed auto in its manual-shift mode, even with a shift light to help.

There is finesse, though. Audi has worked hard to minimise turbo lag and, while the RS 7’s throttle response isn’t as sharp as a good non-turbo engine, its mammoth go can be doled out precisely.

It’s perfectly happy just waffling about, too, where its hefty low-rev reserves and adept auto combine for effortless motivation. Its exotic V8 tune when extended is a delight for the ears.

The Audi is no econo-car when driven hard. Or in inner-city driving, where averages can blow out beyond 15L/100km despite a well-mannered fuel-saving auto stop/start feature.

But an official 9.8L/100km economy rating is impressive and out on the open road – where the cylinder-on-demand system allows the V8 to run as a four-cylinder – sub-10L/100km averages are possible. We managed an 11.9L/100km result on our combined urban/highway loop.

On the road

The RS 7 is a large car, more than five metres long. And, despite plenty of aluminium in its structure, it is heavy – an almost SUV-like 1995kg.

Its heft is disguised through sweeping bends, where the responsive steering, almost total lack of body roll and massive roadholding of its 21-inch rubber endow it with eyebrow-raising abilities. In tighter stuff it tends to push its nose gently but determinedly wide, so can feel ever so slightly ponderous.

Still, the Audi fires out of corners like a scalded cat thanks to its sophisticated quattro all-wheel-drive system. Its supreme traction and predictable balance mean it’s totally unintimidating even when things get slippery.

Just don’t go looking for luxury-sedan quiet from the big tyres. Or, if you option the ‘Dynamic Package’ our car had, luxury-sedan levels of comfort – even at its softest setting the ride faithfully relays low-speed surface imperfections, while really big rural-road hits shudder crudely through the body.

Verdict

Put on your sensible shoes and there’s no doubt the RS 6 Avant is the smarter buy of Audi’s RS 6/RS 7 duo – it’s cheaper, more practical and has all but the same performance and on-road credentials.

Still, if the RS 7 isn’t a car to win over slaves to rationalism, it delivers resoundingly when viewed through the hyper-quasi-coupe prism. Those who put a high price on style, exclusivity and plain old gut appeal – and can pay for it – will find its eminently rounded combination of dramatic looks, dramatic performance, reasonable utility and competitive pricing justifiably hard to resist.